SILENCE IN LENT

All great spiritual writers will tell you that God speaks to us in stillness. When the prophet Elijah encounters God on Mt. Carmel, he does not find the Lord in an earthquake, fire, or furious wind, but in a gentle breeze. All fine and well, but what does this say to us today?

I have written in past Blogs about the noisy world we live in. Often a cacophony of competing sounds, telemarketers screaming for your money, internet messages you would rather not see… too many distractions vying for our attention. There is constant  stimulation and yet when many get a moment when they could be quiet, they only add to this frenetic life by more things that keep them spinning..

Lent should be a time when we deny ourselves and too many still think it is necessary to go on a diet, give up coffee or chocolate, things they will only go back to when Easter is here.  How much more beneficial it would be for all to practice some of the things that keep them “going on the ferris wheel” like holy reading, a few minutes a week before the Blessed Sacrament – times to  practice silence  with focus on the crucified Christ.

Practicing silence when one is not used to it can be plain hard, as it means not just the practice of being quiet, but also developing the habits of stillness and attentiveness.

Our Benedictine monastic life has at its core  listening, stillness and silence, all of which  make little sense to a culture of noise. From the many who come to us for respite, I know there is need and desire in many people's lives for a more balanced path to holiness. It is not to be found in noise, but in the silence of God.